Chapter 191: Chapter 168: Enlistment

New York City, New York, the United States of America
January 11th, 1834

Marie-Adriana Bonapart d’Armont, the twenty-one-year-old daughter of Charlotte Madeline de Corday d'Armont and niece of Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont (also known as Charlotte Corday, the former president of France), firmly crossed her arms and scowled, "But Maman..."

The elderly Corday shook her head and returned to her cooking, "No, Adriana. I will not allow you to go fight in the war! You can't even enlist, you're a woman!"

"Tata enlisted in the National Guard despite being a woman! And she even became president of France!"

"She is... unusual," Madeline Corday responded as she stirred the pot of stew with a wooden spoon, "Besides, this place is not France. America has plenty of men willing to enlist and fight for the country. I will not allow you, my only daughter, to enlist when your brother has already enlisted as well!"

The two Corday women were bickering inside their home on Times Street of New York City. The once shining economic capital of the United States looked much grimmer due to the numerous British raids on the city. While the attacks on the city had stopped, thanks to the hundreds of mines that were positioned near the city's waters, there was a heavy atmosphere that lingered in New York due to the death and destruction that occurred during the war. Thousands of New Yorkers had died due to the shells of British ships, while many others fled into the western parts of the nation to escape the onslaught that was happening across the American East Coast. Adriana's mother decided to remain in New York, despite her own father's protests (who wanted the entire family to move to Columbia after he was appointed as the Secretary of Defense). She had many friends in the city and since Adriana finally managed to secure a job at American Enterprises, Madeline firmly put her foot down. Thankfully, Lucius Bonapart was a very even-headed and understanding man, and he agreed to her decision, though not before making his wife promise monthly visits to the American capital.

And now the two women were alone in the house after Luke di Bonapart, Adriana's twenty-year-old brother, decided to enlist in the Army in order to follow his father's footsteps and fight in the war.

"I am old enough to make my own decision!"

"And I am old enough to see that America does not need you to fight."

"They are letting immigrants, non-Americans, fight in this war, Maman. Surely I, a person born in this nation, should be fighting instead of relying on them to fight for us?"

"Well if they want to fight, then let them fight. But I will not allow you to go to war! Our home here in New York is safe, and America isn't interested in allowing women to fight.."

"America is my home! And if Tata can fight for her country, then I can too. Even if I have to disguise myself."

Madeline massaged her temple and sighed, "We will speak no more of this, Adriana. You are giving me a headache. Go to your room and prepare for your new job. You can contribute to the war by doing your duty at your new workplace."

Seeing that she was getting nowhere, Adriana begrudgingly went to her room and loudly closed the door behind her. Her room was littered with science books that she used during her student days at New York University and various drawings she sketched in her free time. The French-American girl rolled into her bed and pulled out a hidden poster she stuck underneath her bed. The poster displayed an image of an elderly Asian man with a finger pointed at her, wearing a beret and a suit that was colored in red, white, and blue. The caption under the picture screamed, "I want You to defend our country." She took a long look at the poster and rolled it tightly before stuffing it under her bed again.

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She felt downcast that she was born a woman. Yes, America was a shining example of equality and justice, but most of the power was still held by men. Fewer women could vote than men and there were many more men compared to women in the government as well. From what Adriana could remember, there was only one female Senator and eleven House Representatives in Congress, and only one female cabinet member. The worst part was that women could not serve in the military, not even in logistics. There were far more opportunities for women to work in factories now, as thousands of men left their careers behind to enlist in the Army or the Marines. However, women were still forbidden, both by law and by society's standards, from directly participating in the war. Heck, women in France had been allowed to serve in the French Military for decades now, yet America lagged behind in this one important aspect.

Loud noises on the street made the young woman look out the window and she witnessed columns of soldiers marching through New York City. From what she had heard (and she always kept her eyes and ears open for any news about the war), the garrison division in the New England area was heading down to the south to fight in the front lines while a new division took its place. As she watched hundreds of men march in their military gear towards the railway station, her mind recalled the images of her brother in his Army uniform after he completed basic training near New York City. He left on a train along with many other soldiers and waved his metal hat at her as his train steamed away. Almost immediately after he left, she begged her mother to join the Army as well, but she was rejected at every turn. Her mother was a very stubborn woman, to the point that she ran away from France to marry her father.

It had been a few months since her brother had left for the front lines and thankfully, he was still alive. In a twist of fate, he served under their uncle, General Nathaniel Bonapart, and took part in the Battle of Alligator Town (as a Private First Class in the 41st Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division). He described his emotions during the engagement and Adriana became more convicted of her desire to join the fighting when she read his letter. He confessed that he felt extremely afraid while he was being shot at by enemy firearms and artillery, but he felt elated in the aftermath. While he claimed that war was terrible, he always stated that willing and able people needed to fight the battles that others couldn't and he was proud to serve.

"Adriana! The mailman is here! Can you get the mail?"

"Be right there!"

She ran towards the front door and a white mailman gave her a smile from his position on his Haulie, "Good morning miss. Here are your letters and today's newspaper."

"Thank you," Adriana accepted the delivery with grace and waved as he went on his way. She flipped open the newspaper without hesitation and scanned the headlines.

The New York Times was one of the most reliable and informative newspapers around and she greatly enjoyed reading it. However, her heart sank when she read what was written on the front page.

"Timstown burned and destroyed! Thirty thousand Americans dead in Massacre!"

As she desperately read the story, her face broke out into a scowl. The British, after sieging the city of Timstown for nearly two weeks, decided that the siege was taking far too long and decided to burn the city to the ground instead. Thousands of civilians, including women and children, that were taking up arms to defend the city were killed as the British bombarded the city relentlessly using artillery and mortars. After the city was in ashes, British Indian troops took to the town and cleared it of any inhabitants. Timstown was, effectively, a dead city. The inhabitants of the settlement had defended their home to the last man and unfortunately, the American Army was not able to relieve the city in time due to the Alliance attacking Washington.

Her hand instinctively crumpled the newspaper and she rushed to her room in order to pack. Grabbing a large roll of bandages, she taped down her chest and changed into more masculine clothing (trousers, shirts, and a cap to hide her face). Before her mother could say anything, Adriana was out the door with her belongings and forged identification papers (that claimed that she was a man) in her hands.

She had a war to attend to. After all, it was in her blood.

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